To draft or not to draft
I'm rarely one for National Football League talk this far away from the season, but with the NFL Draft scheduled for April 26-27, I guess I'd better get it rollin' for at least a couple weeks.
I heard a great bit on The Herd with Colin Cowherd as I was driving to work this morning. Cowherd referenced and raved about a column written by The South Florida Sun-Sentinel's Harvey Fialkov, arguing that the Miami Dolphins should pass on their first-round draft pick.
I'm not saying for a minute that the Dolphins will do this, and I don't believe that they should, although trading the top pick for a few established, not-so-expense veterans would make sense to me.
Quick tangent: I don't understand the thinking behind the one-player theory. If you finished 1-15, 2-14 or even 3-13, how on Earth do you think that one talented draft pick will reverse your fortunes?
That's like thinking, 'Well, my kid can't walk yet, but I'm going to buy him/her a $200 pair of New Balance tennis shoes to help with his/her training and conditioning.'
I don't have children, but you get my point. You have to walk before you can run. You have to get better before you can be the best.
But I think Fialkov wrote a thought-provoking column.
What if the Dolphins pass on the top pick and act on their pick later in the first round? Fialkov brought up a hypothetical that's centered around the player they do select, saying that pick's parents should argue for first-overall-type money.
Are you kidding me?
I guess playing professional football for gobs of money isn't enough?
I understand the Dolphins' fiscal reasoning for not using the top pick, but I'd argue to at least get something for it. Don't let it go to waste, and don't select someone later in the first round just to save money.
The first-overall draft pick is much more valuable to someone who covets it before the draft, assuming that person exists.
Think about it.